The Martian takes itself very seriously. While the descriptor science-fiction applies to its themes and narrative, the fiction half only applies because the technology we see is near future, not here and now. Science-fiction frequently involves laser beams, intergalactic space travel, and even extra-terrestrials. The Martian is far too level-headed for that sort of nonsense. It has an in-your-face problem and it is going to use all of its resources to solve it, even if the answers reside on Earth, Mars, or somewhere in between. The Martian borrows its applied science and math and esprit de corps from Apollo 13, its unintentional monotonous isolation from Cast Away, and even incorporates a splash of Gravity in its attempts to problem solve in the most hostile of climates. Paraphrasing from lead character Mark Watney’s mission statement, The Martian knuckles down and attempts to “science the shit out of this planet.”

Director Ridley Scott is no stranger to science-fiction, space, and gargantuan productions. Scott is the auteur behind Alien, Blade Runner, and Prometheus, just to list the other-worldly productions. Considering scale, Scott harnessed Gladiator and Black Hawk Down from what must have seemed an impossible task on paper all the way to the big screen. The Martian’s production seems no less intricate. There are long sequences on the red planet requiring all sorts of technological settings to keep Mark Watney (Matt Damon, 2014’s The Monuments Men) alive. This includes a complex rover to drive around the nothingness, a couple rockets to get from surface to space, and that is only Watney’s scenes. Back on Earth, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory wrack their brains in their mission control rooms and manufacturing floors on just how to get Mark back home. In between, the crew of the spaceship Hermes are slowly propelling home from Mars to Earth oblivious to most of the commotion but manning a very impressive looking interplanetary home of their own.

So how does Mark get left behind to fend for himself? A major storm descends upon the intrepid crew of astronauts studying rocks and various other planetary specimens. Making the call to abort their mission early to save their lives, Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain, 2014’s A Most Violent Year) orders everyone to the escape ship. Mark is struck unconscious by debris during the maelstrom, presumed dead, and wakes up quite alone. Writer of the original source material, Andy Weir, a computer programmer, conducted extensive research to get his facts straight. Admitting the storm in the film is actually impossible on Mars, he is correct in saying he needed some way to separate the crew. Knowing the storm is only one of the very few not quite right science mechanisms in the film is a free pass we are more than willing to issue.

To survive, Mark, a botanist and mechanical engineer, puzzles out how much food he has to spare, how much oxygen he has to breathe, and how much water he has to consume. His incremental successes to keep himself afloat may look bland on paper, but on film, they are very intriguing. He experiments with growing food in a setting as desolate as Mars. He tinkers around with his rover transportation and digs up some surprising artifacts left over from a time most of us in the audience will remember. When he runs into an obstacle or a significant setback, we also feel it in the audience. The film is effective; we want Mark to succeed. These are not feats it would take a superhero to accomplish; these are efforts completely believable that an engineer with time on his hands would figure out.

Even though he is riding solo, at least Mark is the only decision maker. Back on Earth, the NASA bureaucracy kicks into overdrive with chiefs of this and bosses of that all colliding together to not only figure if Mark is alive, but how and whether or not to even try and bring him home. In charge of the entire mess is Terry Sanders (Jeff Daniels, 2012’s Looper). Terry makes the tough decisions and hangs himself out to dry when the rest of the eggheads offer up what they can do and wait for the boss’s decision. Media relations chief, Annie Montrose (Kristen Wiig, 2013’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), paces in the corner waiting to pronounce the next idea or ambition a colossal P.R. nightmare or how well something might play in Peoria. Her role is a bit macabre but in an agency fighting for their own chunk of next year’s budget, it is necessary to have someone in the room remembering how integral it is to keep space exploration interesting to the folks in their living rooms.

There are a dozen other key characters including the rest of the crew on the Hermes and various scientists on Earth who all play interesting parts in the whole maze, but combing through all of them will both bog down this paragraph into a list and will take away from enjoyable surprises for any prospective viewer. Sometimes you just don’t want to anticipate absolutely everyone who is going to pop up. Juggling all the different locations and personnel load is Ridley Scott and it is noticeable how he effectively he brings all of it together into a pleasant, and more importantly, understandable, package.​It would be very easy for The Martian to run away with itself in technical jargon and confusing lingo that makes it seem like everyone is figuring out the problem, but such a maneuver would take the movie out of the audience’s hands. Knowing the vast majority of the problems and facts are NASA approved and thoroughly researched creates most of the fun. I got a kick out of trying to keep up with the orbital mechanics and velocity vectors of trying to meet up and grab onto something in space when both of you are moving way too fast. I suffered through physics in high school, but gosh darn it if Ridley Scott and Matt Damon don’t make science a very good time at the movies.